Operation: ZOMBIE
by Starleigh
Summary: A major zombie apocalypse leaves the Earth in ruins. Society has collapsed. Most are dead or undead, and a handful of survivors struggle daily to survive. Four chapters. Character deaths. No happy ending. Enjoy. XP
1. Staying Sane

**Operation: Z.O.M.B.I.E.**

**By EppogirlXD**

**This ficlet (short fanfic) is in an Alternate Universe (AU), humanized, the characters are teens, there might be Skilene, and there are character deaths. And don't count on a happy ending. Don't like, don't read.**

**Genres: Supernatural, horror, suspense, tragedy, hurt/comfort, friendship/romance, and some humor.**

"Anything new?" Marlene asked as she climbed out of the hatch hole and went to stand beside Skipper.

Skipper faced the east and looked far ahead at the rising sun on the horizon through his binoculars. Then he looked down at the trashed wasteland before him that created long shadows in the morning light. "Not since two days ago," he replied.

Marlene smirked. "You sound disappointed." She flipped her brown hair behind her shoulders.

"I don't know, Marlene. I think they might be in hiding, planning their next attack," Skipper said suspiciously, scanning the wasteland.

He had a good view standing on top of the concrete building, which was his and his comrades' HQ. It was rectangular in shape and deadly dull. He could see far and wide, even with all the strewed trash and collapsed buildings and abandoned streets of NYC. But even from this high angle, he couldn't really see what was happening under all that debris.

Marlene laughed and sat down at the edge of the building, dangling her legs over the sides. "Zombies are too dumb to plan."

"You never know. Just because they look and sound stupid, doesn't mean they are. They don't seem too dumb to be able to capture you and eat your brains. Or, even worse, infect you with their disease that will transform you into one of their kind. That's why I'm on duty to guard the rest of civilization from them."

The 'rest of civilization' wasn't very much. Just the kids who were in their HQ because all their homes were ruined, and probably other survivors out their, struggling through this broken world that the zombie apocalypse had created five years ago. Half a decade ago, as in when most of the kids here were eight. Back then they were just trying to get through school life, trying to catch the bus, forgetting to do homework, eating their vegetables, having friendly fights, getting A's at school, having fun, getting scolded by parents…

But all that was gone now. There wasn't even any parents or grown ups, to scold them or otherwise. All adults had all been taken by the infection and had either been eaten, burned, or turned into zombies. Children were more immune to the disease because they were younger and fresher and healthy and innocent and pretty much full of life and nowhere near dead. Even so, sometimes the infection still found them, especially the weak ones. Plus, sometimes they got eaten and/or killed by their zombified parents too, because zombies have no feelings.

So there weren't many left, young people or old. Therefore, the remaining kids were forced to grow up faster and act like adults to keep the rest of humankind safe. Heck, they had to behave beyond how grownups did. Skipper and his team were the law and police these days. Hey acted a lot like an army.

"So how's Kowalski doing?" He let go of the binoculars and they fell in front of his chest, dangling there by the string attached that was hung around his neck.

"Oh, I just saw him. He's doing…fine." She looked down at her knees. "Yeah, he's getting nowhere, apparently."

Marlene could easily see the bones jutting out from her skin on her knees. She barely had any fat left. Neither did everyone else. They were running low on food supply, so everything was rationed out. After almost all of humanity had died out and society and civilization had officially collapsed, there had been a bit of chaos and children everywhere (the live ones, anyways) had raided stores and houses, searching for food and clothes and shelter that would keep them alive.

Skipper frowned. "He's the smartest we've got. We _have _to find a cure for the infection, or at least find out more about those zombies. We barely have any info on them, both living _and_ dead!"

There were two types of zombies walking the ruined earth now. The dead zombies were the ones that rose from the dead and started eating and infecting people. The live ones were the living humans that got the infection of zombiness fromthe dead zombies and slowly (and also painfully) had become almost exactly like them. But there were differences.

For one thing, the dead ones looked, well, _dead_. Both types were undead, but the ones that became dead before rising up into zombies looked more…expired, like most of the food now. Those types couldn't talk, walked slowly with arms stretched out in front of them, and were mostly active at night. The 'living' ones couldn't really talk but moaned a lot, walked a bit faster than the dead ones, and were more active in the day. They could also ride motorcycles (leGasp!) and radiated less of the infection than the dead ones.

But either way, once they caught your scent, they were inescapable. Even though they walked slow, they could surprisingly pop around the corner at any moment and eat you before you have a chance to scream. If they get desperate enough, they ate each other.

There was another similarity. Both types had the same soulless eyes. That is how you know when one of your loved ones becomes a zombie so you can shoot him and burn him so he can't come back to life again as a dead zombie and try to eat you. They also leaked from many parts and had limbs fall off all the time, like normal stereotypical zombies.

"Why did you come out here, anyways?" Skipper asked her. "All girls should stay in the HQ at all times! We have to protect them."

Marlene scowled. "Hey, we girls aren't THAT weak and helpless," she said. "Anyways, I came out here to plant _this_." She pulled out a green potted plant from inside her brown jacket, and gently put it down right beside her.

Skipper frowned. "WHY are you going to plant an ornamental plant? It's not going to help us or anything…what we need is large-scale crops! We are obviously running low on supplies…"

The stores to raid were getting less and less, and teams of kids were sent out to search for more stores to ransack every week, searching for food that was not expired and the most suitable clothes for the environment, hoping they were not contaminated by the infection. Some teams never returned.

"Well, we are going to have to make life again, not just death, so I am starting with this plant," she said in defense. "Anyways, Kowalski needs some chlorophyll for his next experiment and clearly there are not many living plants around…"

They both stared at the wasteland full of rubbish farther than the eye can see. The sun was higher in the sky now. The shadows of the debris were shrinking. The only thing that seemed to move fast and in a hurry was the wind that was whipping through the air, replacing the fast and hurrying people of New York and everywhere else from five years ago.

"Chlorophyll, huh?" Skipper criticized. "Wonder how _that_ is going to help." He raised both of his eyebrows, and looked through his binoculars again.

Marlene was getting more and more upset by Skipper's attitude, and didn't flip back the hair that fell in front of her face again. "Why are you being such a pessimist?" she exclaimed.

It was so true. As the years past, Skipper's personality had gone down. He was no longer the bright, proud leader that (almost) everyone looked up to. He had become more mature, sadder, and more devastated since almost everyone he knew were ripped out of his life and sent to the heavens (or hells) one by one.

Suddenly, Skipper just broke. "Well, what do you expect me to be, then?" he raged, "a prissy little optimistic ballerina unicorn like the one on TV that Private doesn't watch anymore?"

Since civilization had crumpled, electricity was limited and used only when necessary, and not for fun. That meant no telly, and no electronic games.

"Okay, okay!" Marlene said desperately, "I'm depressed, too, but I don't act like this! At least we're still alive, and none of your teammates are gone yet! We are keeping the young ones, like Mort and Eggy, safe for the future, hopefully a better one if we keep working at it never giving up, and fighting for a better tomorrow."

Skipper stared at her hard, but his icy blue eyes seemed to melt a little. "Your words are touching and inspiring, Marlene, but still, this is obviously not a perfect wonderland where there would be a happy ending. Danger could be around any corner. That is why I have my many weapons, like this gun by my side."

He pointed at a black, shiny pistol sitting at his foot. Marlene was surprised. Usually, Skipper and his team didn't use firearms, always preferring things like katana sticks and machetes and flamethrowers and crossbows and chainsaws. But times have clearly become desperate, and then needed stuff that would actually keep the zombies dead for a longer while. After shooting them, they would quickly burn them so they couldn't pop up alive anymore. Guns were the second most efficient way to take them out for a while before the zombie's body could fully repair itself as best it could.

"Well, guess what," Skipper said, changing the subject again to a better topic for Marlene's sake. "We have finally come up with a name that we can use when we talk about attempting to stop all this madness and crisis."

"What's the name?" Marlene asked.

"It's called 'Operation: ZOMBIE'."

"What do the letters stand for?"

"Zap Out Monsters Before Infection Erupts."

"That's nice," Marlene said, amused. "Sounds like a movie title. Plus, that made no sense."

"Hey! It's a working title!" Skipper defended but he was smirking.

"So, wait," Marlene, still amused, decided to analyze each word, "'Zap Out'? With what, lightning? OR. A pretty firework! That will surely blind and then disintegrate them! Especially the dead ones. They can't stand pretty things!" She laughed.

"I guess then they can't look at you for long," Skipper smirked even wider.

Marlene whacked him playfully. "Hey!" she exclaimed, "and then 'Monster's'? Yes, they eat people, but," she imitated a parody of a zombie, "ooh, I'm a scary monster! Feel the horror! Feel my wrath! Feel my–"

"Many leaky parts?" Skipper joked.

"Ew!" She almost whacked him again, but didn't because she was giggling too much. "And then 'Before Infection Erupts'? ERUPTS?"

"Well Marlene, I suppose a better word would be 'effects', or 'ejects', or 'evolve', or 'explodes', or–wait that last one didn't sound quite right…."

"Yep, you need to work on that title," she mused, smiling from ear to ear.

They both grinned at each other.

"Hey, do you want to scout around the area now?" Skipper asked, "do some recon in the car?"

Marlene stared at Skipper. "You're kidding me. You never let anyone but you and your teammates ride the team car, much less do recon in it!"

Skipper stared blankly ahead. "Yeah, I don't know why I just said that once-in-a-lifetime offer…but, there hasn't been a zombie for two days, unlike when they used to show up every five minutes, so I thought I would have some fun riding around and looking for stores to raid. Guess I'll do that all by myself now!"

He started to walk to the ladder (that could be pulled up easily just in case some zombie decided to climb) that would lead him down to the ground and to the secret entrance of a garage that held the team car.

"Wait! I'll come with you!" Marlene started coming after him, excited about the prospect of zooming along and zipping quickly around the debris everywhere, instead of the usual walking or riding a crappy bike. But then she stopped. "Hold on. I'm going to water the plant first. It hasn't have water in a while…"

Skipper rolled his blue eyes. "Okay then. You go do that, and I'll get the car ready."

And with that, he picked up his gun, hopped down the ladder and vanished from her sight.

Marlene smiled and made her way into the HQ through the hatch hole, feeling happy to have brightened up Skipper's day.

**So this is the first chapter, and there will be a few left. **

**Sorry for all that OOCness.**

**Any feedback is accepted. Well, except for Rico's kind of feedback. Even flames are accepted.**

**Oh, and, this relationship between Skipper and Marlene in this story can either be viewed as romance or friendship, whichever you choose, because it's going to be there for the whole story.**

**-_-...**


	2. On the Road

**Operation Z.O.M.B.I.E chapter 2**

**By EppogirlXD**

**Thank you to reviewers!:  
><strong>**13thsense: I…don't get what you're talking about…  
><strong>**Eternally Ebony: Thank you! :D  
><strong>**InternetGirl123: You are welcome! But I just added that part in because PoM mentioned it somewhere…  
><strong>**xxAznPenguin: Thankies! :)  
><strong>**sk: Definitely…I've already written out the whole story…XD  
><strong>**Rookie70Penguin: LOL...this is the aftermath of the apocalypse, and I couldn't help putting that in! It just came to my mind XD  
><strong>**MonkeyLucy : I know! Thanks for looking at those spoilers I posted in dA!  
><strong>**Kukipye: Again, me too! XD and that part wasn't supposed to be funny! XP**

* * *

><p>Marlene hopped down the hatch hole and into the HQ, which was pretty dark and crowded, filled with most of the rest of civilization. The only light was the weak morning light coming through the round windows. The HQ was pretty dim and quiet.<p>

Eggy and some of his siblings were huddled under a concrete table thingy, still mourning over the loss of their mother who had turned into a zombie two weeks before and then eaten one of their siblings before Skipper and his team killed her and then incinerated her.

Fred–it's a miracle that he's still alive, everyone thought he would be eaten by now–was standing by the hi-fi, trying to make it work even though everyone else knew that the batteries had been taken out a long time ago to be saved so it was now just like a decoration; it filled up unwanted space and was useless, collecting dust.

The TV was also collecting dust, but right now Private was trying to clean up the HQ so he was brushing that dust away with Mason, who had to take his mind away from the lost of his buddy Phil who had disappeared six months ago.

Roger, wearing a green shirt like always, was trying to cheer everyone up by singing happy show tunes, all while cradling an arm that wasn't there. Guess who took ripped his arm out years before to eat it.

There were others, but there's no point in pointing them out, because they were all the same, grieving over losses because there was nothing else to do other than train with weapons or tell stories or go raid stores or LEARN all they didn't get to learn from school, which obviously nobody wanted to do. When the zombie infection took over the world five years ago, school and education was suddenly irrelevant.

_Wow, something fun and thrilling needs to happen soon_, Marlene thought. She realized that Skipper could always make everyone excited (and probably scared) if he wasn't always moody all these days, and doing recon all the time even when it wasn't his shift. Everyone looked so bored and distraught. Everyone had lost something special of his or hers. Well, _almost_ everyone…

"Hello, my royal, loyal subjects!" Julien suddenly busted into the room, back from his potty break. Julien was pretty much the only person in the room who hadn't lost something that was special to him. He still had Mort and Maurice, and his parents died in a car crash when he was a baby so he didn't remember anything about them. In addition, he still had all his limbs intact and no infection seemed to want to come near him. Not even a pretty silver hair seemed to want to come off his pretty little head.

Some people lifted up their heads when he entered the room, but no one really cared about him and went back to mourning. So the next person who spoke was Marlene herself, saying "Hey, guys!" to everybody. Well, at least more people acknowledged her presence than with Julien.

To not make things awkward by just standing there, Marlene quickly went to Kowalski's lab, greeting him and Rico in the badly lit room before going to a not-so-clean faucet in the wall and filling a nearby cup with only a little bit of water.

"So how are you doing on that experiment?" she asked Kowalski as Rico handed him another tool from a big sack.

Kowalski looked puzzled as he took the tool Rico gave him and stirred something in a little pot on a lab desk. "You just asked me exactly the same thing, like, fifteen minutes ago," he said.

"Well, I'm checking again, I guess," Marlene said.

"I'm getting somewhere," Kowalski lied to make her feel reassured.

"You're lying," she accused.

"I never lie," he lied.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm gonna water that plant and then ride with Skipper in the team car and then fight some killer ninja gangster zombie motorcyclists in a chainsaw factory."

Kowalski chuckled dryly. "Okay, you go do that," he said, thinking she was joking about the whole thing, which she half was.

"Bye, Rico," Marlene said. Rico gave a little grunting sound in response when she patted him on the head like a puppy then wiped all that grease and dandruff that came out of his hair and onto her hands on her brown jacket. Everyone had bad personal hygiene these days.

Then she went outside again and watered the plant. She put it in a spot on the roof where zombies wouldn't be able to reach if they ever came up here. When she looked closely down at the plant, she was pleased to see a little bud of a flower starting to blossom at the top of the plant. Finally she would be able to show something pretty to Eggy and his siblings. Then maybe they would be able to plant some more plants for crops and such like Skipper said, even though they didn't really know how to grow plants being the city kids that they were.

After that she straightened herself up and looked around her, casting a shivering glance to a nearby building containing lots and lots of deadly explosives and gases, which Skipper said was to blow up to kill them all instantly just in case something went wrong in the world and they had no more options. Well, he said that just to scare them a bit. Really, it was just a storage place for all their weapons and explosives. Though it _could_ be blown up to kill them all instantly.

After staring at that storage building for a while, she finally her made her way to the nearby garage where Skipper was already in the driver's seat of their convertible that had once been pink but then had been painted to blend it with their surroundings.

"Hi," Marlene made her way over to the passenger side of the car, slathering something her herself.

Skipper wiped his finger on her arm. "What did you just put on yourself?" he asked suspiciously.

"Sun block," Marlene said in defense. "The sun is going to be high and hot soon, and I'm not used to it these days like you are."

Skipper was the one who spent most of his time outside and he was all tan from it, unlike everyone else.

"Well, if you're gonna use that then you're going to have to sit at the back of the car."

"What?"

"Just kidding."

Marlene wished Skipper would be more nice-fun than mean/weird-fun. (Don't we all.)

So she got in shotgun and almost sprained her buttocks sitting on something hard and round like a cylinder. "Ouch!"

"Oops," Skipper said, grabbing up the flashlight that she had just plunked on. "This is just for emergencies." He flipped it into the backseat, though he kept his gun sitting in the front.

The next thing Marlene knew, they were driving into the streets and places that weren't even streets, just like she imagined, but with Skipper lecturing her, which was not what she envisioned.

"…So if you ever see someone you know coming at you as a zombie, _do not_ hesitate to kill him or her! I repeat, _do not_! Because you might regret it for the rest of your life, which wouldn't be very long in their presence."

"Yeah, yeah." As if she hadn't already heard this lecture. If she had a quarter for every time he gave a speech, she would be rich by now. But apparently, money did not matter so much anymore. There was still trading, but very little, and no one traded with money. Those green bills and little coins were useless and worthless these days.

The surroundings right now made her too sad, because she remembered when all the places here were nice and bright and full of life and promises. Now, totally lifeless, it looked eerie and alien. She decided to concentrate her mind on Skipper's lecture and the wind instead of focusing on the landscape.

"So, if I ever turn into one of them undeads, will you shoot me?" Skipper suddenly asked hopefully.

"Wha–? Uh, sure," Marlene said.

Skipper grinned. "And if you ever transform into a zombie, I promise I will put a bullet to your head, too, so you won't have to suffer for long."

"Thanks," Marlene said sarcastically.

So they drove around and had fun going around debris, under debris, and over debris, while tall, crumpling buildings casting long, looming shadows everywhere, making as exciting scene. Skipper drove slowly sometimes, and sped up other times, both of them enjoying the little ride with no one telling them to be careful or asking for their driver's license which Skipper obviously did not have. The streetlights did not tell them to stop or slow down because they didn't work. There was no one to hit and they had the road to themselves.

Even with that kind of freedom, it seemed too quiet and lonely. They were the only living beings for miles; this place felt like a ghost town. There used to be random zombies roaming the streets if they were stupid or suicidal enough to actually look for food out in the open. But there was absolutely no one now. The zombie population was getting thinner every week, thankfully.

Somewhere in the distances both of them could see gray smoke drifting towards the clouds from bon fires, where zombies were burned in. At least these city kids could make fire whenever one died out. With Rico's flamethrower, that is.

Apparently it was too quiet for Skipper's liking. So he twisted the dial on the car's radio even though they both knew that there was no radio station that was functioning and probably no signal if there was one…so it surprised them both when it started to play a song from a radio station: …_c__ause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again, yeah baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again …_

"Oh not this old song," Skipper complained while Marlene squealed.

"OMG I haven't heard this song in years!" She was grinning broadly, and threw her arms in the wind and closed her eyes, because hey, it's not like anyone was watching.

_So dance dance like its the last last night of your life life gon get you right…_

The music flew on and echoed into the silent, cloudy day. It looked like Marlene didn't really need sun block after all.

The smoke slowly became further away as they made a wider space between them and their last remaining home. The kids had to go further out these days for everyday items, hoping the places they go to were not zombie territory.

After a while of car riding, they entered a parking lot filled with a bit of garbage and stopped driving. Marlene was slightly disappointed that she didn't get to ride in the car longer. Even though there was no one to stop him, Skipper still never parked in a handicapped parking spot, even though he already broke a lot of lost laws doing stuff like breaking and entering and theft and murder.

They both got out and went inside a little mall, dark and deserted. Even now these types of places made Marlene shiver, always feeling creeped out of how empty it was. It looked like they were going to go 'shopping' in here.

They had only walked a few feet inside when Skipper decided to split up. "Just shout if you need help or anything, okay?" He started to leave.

Marlene looked worried. "But what if a zombie comes?" She had never been in a group this small.

Skipper smirked. "I've been here many times already. There are no zombies." And then before she could reply, he had gone down to a weapons store somewhere on the second floor, walking up an elevator that no longer worked.

Marlene, still nervous, went to a nearby clothing store for some new clothes as all of her current ones were getting too small because she was growing very fast at this age.

She racked through the clothes in the dimness of the store. Exit signs and emergency lights provided weak lighting. She found a cute snug brown boot, but couldn't find its partner so had to settle on a white boot of the same type that also did not seem to have a mate. It was going to look a bit weird wearing two different colors, but then again, who cared?

After deciding that, she ripped off the tags, still feeling a bit guilty as always, and put them on. They fit comfortably, if not a bit stiff, and nicely.

She found some more accessories for her loose hair and finally went looking for more clothes. All this 'shopping' on her own made her think how lonely she felt, and knew it would be much more fun 'shopping' with some other people.

She sighed and started strolling towards the teen's section.

* * *

><p><strong>Terrible stopping spot, I know, but I had to end the chapter somewhere…AND. The song. Guess what song that was! It's really obvious, yeah...<strong>


	3. Attacked

**Operation Z.O.M.B.I.E. chapter 3**

**By EppogirlXD**

**To the reviewers!:**

**13thsense: Yes, yes, mmhmm. *writes some things down on clipboard like a therapist* and how do you feeeeeeeel about that?  
><strong>**Kukipye: Heheh...I know I supposed to update on Thursday...but then you know that an English assignment and me getting sick kinda delayed that...I'm still sick...feel free to feel sympathetic...*sneezes*  
><strong>**Eternally Ebony: I did mention that it was a terrible stopping spot, I know, but I realized that the chapter had gotten too long once I finished the flashback scene, so I had to rearrange the chapters a little to even them out.  
><strong>**InternetGirl123: How did you–nevermind. And, Skipper mentioned it in an episode, I think it was _Operation: Cooties_ but I'm not sure.  
><strong>**xxAznPenguin: Yes! It was_ DJ Got Us Falling In Love_. And thank you!  
><strong>**sidnydcurry: Thanks. :)  
><strong>**sk: Yes! Be glad I put in that song instead of_ Party Rock Anthem_, which is the song that apparently half of my school is obsessed with...  
><strong>**MonkeyLucy: Oh my gosh. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.  
><strong>**Sh'boom1932: Thank you so much, Al!  
><strong>**mutated-ducks-rule: Of course this is different from my other stories! Aren't they all different from each other?This is a bit deeper, is all (or is it?). If you think this is totally different, you will be surprised at what fanfic I have planned next...**

**Sorry if the story is getting really predictable…XP**

Suddenly, something caught her eye while walking in the store. A little T-shirt on a rack in the children's department. She instantly froze in her tracks and stared. The silence was deafening. A feeling of déjà vu was starting to stir up from somewhere inside her mind. This T-shirt was bringing back so much more memories than any photo album could. She couldn't believe it. Her eyes watered. The shirt looked so much like the one she had loved and worn a lot––like on the day she had to escape.

_Her mother was throwing things into Marlene's suitcase in a flurry. Outside of the apartment Marlene could see chaos and fires in the streets of NYC. It was like Hoboken out there. Her room seemed too calm and safe and quiet compared to it, even with her mother hurrying about, and knowing what was about to happen next._

_Turning her gaze away from the window and her mother, Marlene went back to putting her full concentration on tampering and admiring the little fluffs and sparkles on her favorite shirt––the white one with the beautiful Spanish guitar on it, a peaceful garden of flowers surrounding the picture of the instrument._

"_You have to go with daddy! Now!" Her mother suddenly screamed, flinging the suitcase at Marlene._

_Marlene froze in shock for a second as she fumbled with the suitcase. Her mother wouldn't scream like that. Or throw something large and heavy at her. But something about those eyes…_

_Now her mom was screaming obscenities, yelling, "Only if that idiot who called himself a scientist hadn't made that stupid potion a year ago to try to raise his freaking wife back from the dead even if she didn't want come back and be alive again! Oh, and then the potion just had to backfire and then now whomever she makes contacts with becomes just like the undead herself! How wonderful!"_

_Marlene cowered on her soft bed, not knowing what to do, as she was just nine. "Mommy…"_

_Her mother whirled around and stared at Marlene like she was looking at her for the first time. Her dark eyes flashed but seemed to soften a bit, her human side still struggling against the infection. "Oh Marlene," she whispered. "Be careful out there, okay? Don't ever stop fighting the infection. I'm so sorry I wouldn't be able to go with you, but know that I'll always love you." Then she hugged her._

_Marlene embraced her back, knowing that she would have to leave soon. But then suddenly her mother was hugging her tighter and tighter and Marlene was starting to gasp for air as her mother's squeeze started being too much and the woman's infection won over her body, making her start to kill her daughter slowly and painfully. Marlene struggled but her mother had grown strong. Her grip was also hard and cold and dead and crushing. Her vision started blacking out, and in her mind she screamed for her mother to stop._

_Then just as the blackness almost completely took over the rest of her sight, her mother suddenly released her and they both fell to the floor._

_Someone had come into her room and forcefully knocked her mother down. Now, as Marlene's strength returned, she saw both her father and fully-turned-zombie mother fighting and screaming and clawing each other's eyes out. Marlene also screamed. Her father hollered, "GO NOW!" and Marlene obeyed instantly this time, grabbing her suitcase and dashing out of the intense action._

_Her tears blurred everything as she left her room and everything she knew, so she couldn't see the blood spewing. She couldn't see the fresh blood all over her bedroom and her art masterpieces. She couldn't see as her parents fought over a lighted lighter. She couldn't see the fires beginning to consume her apartment building. She couldn't see her parents succeed at killing each other. She couldn't see Skipper lead her out of the burning building in the mayhem._

_And she didn't want to._

_The only sense seeming to function was touch, and she definitely felt the hot flames licking at her skin, the bruises around her chest, and her sticky, wet, beautiful shirt._

_She never even got to say goodbye._

And that was why the shirt hanging before Marlene now reminded her so much of that day which she did not want to remember. Except that this shirt was definitely newer and cleaner and had never been bought. But it was even the same size as the one she loved so much.

She was so shocked and engrossed in that shirt that she didn't sense something until she saw it at the corner of her vision, and turned around.

And then she screamed.

* * *

><p>Skipper could hear her scream from all the way up on the second floor. So he instantly acted and didn't think, ditching everything he was currently holding, jumping over the railing of the second floor, landing on the first floor with a thump and did the whole tuck and roll procedure (in order not to gain any injuries) instead of running down the escalator.<p>

Then he raced into the clothing store that he knew Marlene was in, and came to a scene where a zombie was now clutching Marlene's arm, while she herself was standing in frozen shock as she didn't know what to do, screaming on the inside, every nerve on high alert. The zombie seemed to be giving out something in the air that kept her paralyzed. The hand that gripped her was hard and cold and dead no matter how frail it looked, and flakes of skin kept on coming off the zombie's hand, like a snake shedding it's skin. Marlene was_ terrified_.

Skipper came on instantly before either of them could see him and hurled himself at the zombie feet first, forcing the zombie to painfully yank its dead hand off of Marlene. They both slammed into the rack of Marlene's favorite clothes. She closed her eyes and cringed, relieved that the creature was now farther away from her, but still horrified.

It quickly became clear that this was a dead zombie as no moaning or any sound at all came out of it. Skipper wanted to execute him quickly, and reached for the gun that was in its holster, but the zombie was a feisty one and clumsily swung his arms to successfully whack his hand away, still 'alive', and trying to eat Skipper.

Skipper then suddenly had a chance in the struggle to move back a bit and looked at this zombie in whole, realizing that the zombie looked…familiar. Especially from it's orange hair, even when it was pale. This skinny zombie was Max. Nice Max, who was homeless and poor from the beginning. Skipper remembered him disappearing. He must have been killed and come back to life again to make him a dead zombie. His eyes were now a soulless black instead of one blue and one green. Skipper instantly felt sorry, but he did not let himself hesitate in killing him.

"Skipper, that zombie looks like––"

"I _know_! Now _go_!" Skipper hollered the exact words Marlene's father had yelled to her four years ago as he continued his tussle with Max. "Go back to the car! I'll meet you there when I'm done!"

Marlene was worried, but she left.

* * *

><p>Skipper wondered why he hadn't shot Max instead of tackling him first. That would have made everything a lot easier. But he remembered that he had just been acting, not thinking. <em>Stupid stupid stupid! <em>Suddenly, pain was shooting through his right arm as Max ripped some flesh out. It hurt, but they both did not stop on the fight to the death.

* * *

><p>Marlene ran back to the car and started to buckle in, hoping that there were no more zombies around. But just in case, she hopped into the backseat so that she would have two soft, firm seats to protect herself on both sides instead of a just a seat and a glass windshield like in the front. She had learned a bit self-defense from Skipper's team, but didn't know enough to fight and kill a zombie, which she banged her head around for. She wished she had learned more. She also wished that Skipper and his team had done more recon in this mall, because apparently he had been wrong about zombies hiding around.<p>

As she shuffled around in the backseat trying to find the most defensive position, her leg came into contact with something hard and round. She looked down at the floor. Aha! She suddenly had an idea about what to do with the object that almost sprained her buttocks this morning. Skipper had told her it was only used for emergencies, and this definitely was one. Thinking like a heroine, she snatched up the flashlight and bravely ran into the mall again, not thinking very straight from all the adrenaline now flowing through her body.

* * *

><p>Skipper was having a tougher time with this zombie than with most of his undeads. <em>I really SHOULD have shot him first! Drats! <em>They struggled some more. Right now he was attempting to tear Max apart. Skipper remembered in dismay when his team used to try to _help _Max instead of attempting to _destroy _him like now. Back then, killing him would never had crossed their mind, because of how often they had to help him survive.

Then suddenly, while Skipper was still caught up in his musings and fighting, a bright beam flashed on like a spotlight onto the both of them in the dim room. The zombie paused in surprise and pain because dead zombies aren't really fond of bright light, but Skipper wasted no time in zeroing his thoughts in on whipping out his gun and murdering Max.

After the gunshot's echoes were over, the store was deadly quiet. No pun intended.

After that, they packed up Max into a black trash bag Skipper whipped out, and brought Max's whole body (not leaving any body parts behind) back into the car and laid him in the backseat. The silence was quite loud the whole time.

They then got into the car themselves and suddenly Skipper was glaring at Marlene. "What were you _thinking_?" he exclaimed.

Marlene didn't move. She had been thinking that she could be one of those non-heroines in books who endangered her life to save the hero, and then be scolded by the hero for doing such a stupid thing, but then praised for her awesomeness by said hero in the end.

That is not what happened next. (Sort of.)

She didn't speak, and they pulled onto the road again, with a bonfire as a destination. And then what she didn't expect was for Skipper to say, "who freaking died and made you some sorry excuse for a hero?" in a hateful voice.

That question stunned her for a few moments, not only because it contained an unspeakable irony in it, but also because Marlene would never in a hundred years guess that Skipper would say something so weird and mean, especially with what had just happened. Plus, she had just _help_ kill Max, even when it hurt her so much to see a friend die, and Skipper had just hurt her more instead of giving any thanks or reassurings. She couldn't believe that Skipper was so stubbornly sexist, never being able to accept that girls can be heroes too. She couldn't believe that he had such a cold heart, or not much of a heart at all.

Marlene fumed silently in anger, her mind in a furious whirl, and tears making it up to her eyes, but by the time she had thought of a good retort to his question, it was too late.

Finally, they reached a bonfire in a trashed little park between two ruined buildings, and Marlene craned her neck up and up to follow the direction of the gray smoke coming from the fire in the distance. The smoke drifted higher and higher and disappeared into the clouds.

Skipper had stopped the car in a parking space next to the sidewalk, but wasn't moving. "I know how you feel," he said suddenly into the silence, making Marlene's eyes go wide in surprise. They were both staring out of the car in different directions, not daring to look at each other. "Especially when it happens to someone I used to know. That's why I am usually gone for hours after a kill." He sighed, then he went to get the trash bag with Max in it, and left her in the car as he went to burn the body.

Marlene felt speechless––again. She felt mad and guilty and sad and understanding for Skipper. It didn't look he would ever apologize for his outburst, or thank her for helping him, but she knew that saying all that took a lot from him, and that would be the very best she would get out of him. She stared forlornly out the car window, watching Skipper leave.

Then something rustling in some garbage caught her eye nearby. Her adrenaline started building up again. _Oh no, not another zombie_, she thought in fear, and started to lower herself down in the car seat, but what appeared hesitantly out of the trash was much, much smaller than any undead creature.

It was a kitten.

Marlene gasped in surprise and at how cute, vulnerable, weak and adorable it looked as it limped out into the open and mewed out a feeble meow. Its fur were different shades of gray and brown, but Marlene couldn't tell whether it was from its natural color or from dirt and grime. Its ears were flat on its head, making it look all the more delicate and lovable. It suddenly looked at Marlene with its wide eyes and she couldn't stand it any longer.

She jumped out of the car and made her way to it slowly so it wouldn't get frightened away. Finally, with a lot of cooing and calming down, Marlene was able to gently get it in her hands. The cat mewed in a bit of fear even more, so that was followed with more soothing. She was surprised to be able to feel such skinny bones in the tiny kitty and was concerned. Worried, she put it in her jacket of where the plant was before and promised herself that she would give the kitten a lot of TLC once they got back to the HQ. Then she got back into the car just as Skipper came back.

They started the drive back to the lair, and Marlene's mind was in a tornado again. "Distract me, please," Skipper said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Um, okay," Marlene said, completely understanding why, and wanting to help as much as possible. "Um…I have new boots."

She instantly regretted what she said because it linked back to the mall and Max's death, but the words were already out of her mouth.

"Okay, let's see them," Skipper raised an eyebrow, not seeming to realize that Marlene had regretted saying those words.

So she lifted her feet and hovered them over the dashboard. One brown boot, one white boot.

After that Marlene became aware of how ridiculous she looked with both feet clothed in different colors raised in the air. She could have taken them off first, then shown them to Skipper. This felt silly. It _was_ silly. But then she saw that this would have been better anyways, as she noticed that she had finally made Skipper grin.


	4. The End

**Operation: Z.O.M.B.I.E. chapter 4**

**By EppogirlXD**

**I am so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry about taking a while to update! Yes, I did say that I finished typing the whole story out before publishing, but somehow, all three thousand words of chapter four vanished a few weeks ago! I couldn't find it. It had just disappeared, so I had to type it all up again, best as I could, from memory. So here is the shorter, crappier version of the very last chapter...D: It makes me so sad that all the hard work I did the first time around went down the drain…so upset that I will say one of Skipper's angry words: Bouillabaisse!**

**Well, reviewers are always thanked! XD:**

**InternetGirl123: Yes, yes, and yes.**

**xxAznPenguin: Sad, isn't it?**

**Rookie70Penguin: *gasp* If I am thinking what you are thinking...then, well I never! *gives you Skipper-slap***

**sk: Yes, it is.**

**MonkeyLucy: Not more disturbing thoughts! *also gives you a Skipper-slap***

**Kukipye: Great. Now you just have to mean it.**

**Eternally Ebony: Don't get attached to the kitten!**

* * *

><p>On the ride home, Marlene felt a little giddy of all that happened today. The previous car ride, the zombie attack, the burning of Max, and, of course, the little kitty still inside her brown jacket. She wondered when she should reveal it to Skipper, if she ever did.<p>

Finally, they were home. Marlene was relieved. They drove into the garage, and both of them hopped out. The cat mewed in surprise from the sudden change in movement. The meow echoed through the room. Marlene and Skipper froze.

"I did that," Marlene said blushing, covering for the kitty.

"No, you didn't," Skipper said suspiciously.

"I did! It was by accident."

"No, you didn't!" Skipper accused. "My gut knows you didn't. Are you going to question my gut?"

"You're gut is wrong! I–"

But before she could say anything else, Skipper came striding towards her and snatched the cat out from under her coat before she could stop him. Panicking, the kitten screeched out, and Marlene tried to grab it back, but Skipper held it away.

"My gut is wrong, huh?" Skipper said bitterly, glaring. "I'm disgusted in you. You liar! I'm already having a bad day, and you have to make matters worse! How could you?"

Marlene was getting angry, too. "How could I? How could _you_? It's obvious the kitten only wants some TLC, and you're going to snatch away it's only opportunity? I want to help it!"

"What are you talking about?" Skipper was now looking at her in total disbelief. "This cat could have the infection! Don't you know? Animals are easy to turn and easier to kill when once transformed. That's why there isn't many around at all. They're all gone. The remaining ones have the infection. Do you really want to infect_ all_ of us with this one kitten?"

Marlene was stunned once again. She hadn't known this. _Is there anything Skipper can say today that would not render me speechless?_

So she just stood there and watched as Skipper announced that he was going to take it to where it belonged, put it in a little brown sack just in case, and climbed into the car once again.

"What are you going to do with it?" She was finally able to say.

He looked at her stonily. "Classified."

And then he left.

Marlene made her way out of the garage and climbed to the top of the HQ in autopilot mode. She checked on the plant again, and was still glad to see it's bud. Maybe she would put a glass dome over it so it wouldn't be destroyed or anything by an unknowing wanderer. She plucked a leaf for Kowalski, and then made her way down inside the HQ.

Everything looked almost the same as before. This time, though, Eggy and his siblings had actually pulled out some educational items found in a school and were learning some book smarts they never got to learn in school. At the moment, they were explaining fractions and adjectives to each other.

Roger spotted Marlene descending the ladder. "Hello back! Nice boots," he commented, noticing her footwear. "Why the long face? Ooh! I know some show tunes that will cheer you up!"

But Marlene only shook her head and headed into the lab. Inside, it looked darker than before, and Rico must have been gone to make some more weapons like he did these days.

"Hey, Kowalski, I got the green stuff you needed––oh my gosh, are you okay?" She finally came close enough to see him in whole. He was slouched at a cluttered lab desk––and his face was streaked with tears as he silently cried. She stared, as she still found it odd for boys to cry. Sure, she saw them cry more than girls, but…

He noticed her and waved for her to leave, but she did the complete opposite of that and came closer instead. "What happened?"

"N-nothing," he whispered and looked away.

Marlene tried to figure out what to do as she stood by Kowalski. She placed the container down and looked around in the dim light. She spotted a test tube containing some dark, toxic substance on his table. Iodine solution. Beside it was a small photograph of a girl. She recognized her. Suddenly, it hit her like a falling piano.

"Oh, Kowalski, do you still miss Doris?"

Kowalski remained where he was, and didn't do anything in response, but Marlene knew she was right. Doris had died right before Kowalski's eyes two years ago. It had left him shattered, but everyone had thought that he had recovered. They thought he had gotten over it over the years. Until now.

So he was still devastated. That must have been one big crush. Marlene felt terrible for him. Then she realized something else.

"Was her…passing away…the reason why you don't discover anything else about the zombies anymore?"

Kowalski didn't reply again, which she took it as a yes. Since the death, Kowalski hadn't found anything more about the zombies, or if he did, he kept it to himself. It had definitely happened around that time. Marlene knew now that all the escapes to the lab 'to do some work' had all just been an act. He had been mourning, like now.

Feelings of care enveloped her, and then she embraced him and said some comforting words, being that shoulder to lean on. It lasted for quite a while in that dim lab. It was a bit awkward, but was just the consolation that both of them needed. Marlene knew exactly how Kowalski felt, and hoped that one day in the future, he would feel fine again. It would be okay some day. It had to be.

Finally, Marlene had to pull away. The moment still lingering, they gave each other the smallest and smiles, and then she slowly left the lab, closing the lab door silently. She hoped that she had made Kowalski feel better, because she felt better now, too.

Marlene smile tugged upwards a bit more as she turned towards the new scene before her. All of the little children had started up a game of Duck Duck Goose, and some of the older kids had joined as well.

Mort was going around the circle, tapping everyone on the head as he chanted, "Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck...goose!" His little hand landed on Fluffy's head, and in an instant, she was up from her spot on the floor and chasing Mort around. Everyone laughed as the witnessed the hilarious scene as the two children screamed and shrieked, and Mort got confused on which way to go until finally one of Fluffy's little friends yanked him down on Fluffy's spot just as Fluffy tackled him.

The scene was so bright and light and innocent. Marlene wished that it would never end. Still grinning, she silently made her way out of the HQ again so as not to disturb the fun scene.

On the roof, she examined the green plant again, and added some fertilizer she had acquired. Then she did all of her share of the chores (reluctantly). It was boring and tedious, but she finished it all in the end. Hours later, she stood on top of the HQ again, queen of all the debris, watching the sun getting lower in the sky. It wasn't sunset yet, but Skipper still wasn't back. She wondered what was taking him so long. How long did it take to banish a kitten?

Marlene shook her head and sat down on the cool concrete, pulling the potted plant near her. She had preferred to be alone for the rest of the day, declining any offer to join people in any activities. It had been a bit out of character for her, as she was usually the one to join the action and tag along with people. But she had needed some room to think. Like now, it was the perfect place and time to contemplate all that had gone on today. It was quiet and peaceful and a light breeze flowed through her hair. Maybe she should clear her mind. So she closed her eyes to meditate.

A _clang_ on metal made her eyes instantly snap open. The noise had come from the ladder. She had been pretty sure she was the only one outside. The very young children were sleeping, and everyone else was inside doing….whatever.

More clangs started following the first one, getting louder and louder and higher and higher towards her. There was always a long pause between each one. And then…a moan. She felt her blood run cold. _Oh no._

I guess it's predictable to you readers what events will occur next. Marlene started scrambling towards the hatch door for cover, but then she caught a look on the zombie's face that had suddenly popped up over the roof and couldn't move, a loud scream coming out as a strangled yelp.

It was Skipper, zombified.

Marlene stared, not quite believing. It looked like Skipper, yet nothing like him at all. But she could recognize him. He was undead now. She could tell by the green skin, and black, souless eyes…

She was still staring when Skipper shuffled over and reached for her. She snapped out of it enough to take a quick step back, but he caught her arm anyway. She forced herself to glance away, not daring to look at him. Outside, every nerve felt paralyzed. Inside, her adrenaline was streaking and her mind was screaming. But she couldn't move. Skipper had her in a firm, dead grip. She had no escape. She was dead meat.

But her mind wouldn't accept any of this. The horror was overwhelming. Skipper leaned closer, haunting, and very, very slow. Marlene turned her eyes back to him again and her eyes almost started to well up. There would be no happy ending. She couldn't find anything to help her escape, and even if she did get out of his clutches, you could never escape a zombie. They never gave up.

Skipper was getting closer, seeming to know that Marlene wouldn't get away anytime soon and therefore letting her sink in her own terror. She would rather have him get it over with quickly than wait like this. Her mind felt like it was about to burst into flames or freeze up. It was over, over, over…

Then Skipper moved his other arm and Marlene saw something glinting in the setting sun in her peripheral vision. His pistol, still in it's holster. He was just a breath away now, but a sudden spark of hope flared up inside of her, beneath all that panic, alarm and fright.

Marlene used that spark to start moving again. She tried to wrench her arm away from his grip, but it was way too firm. Finally, biting her lip and remembering some self-defense Skipper had taught her once (oh, the irony), she snapped out of his grip in a flash. She screamed from the pain. She was pretty sure she had broken her thumb in order to execute that move. The explosion from both the pain and the moment made Skipper pause for a millisecond and she used it to dive down and grab his gun.

Now she was lying on the concrete, with the pistol (heavier than expected), and Skipper turned around to meet her gaze, seeming to be more intent to eat her now. Marlene leveled the gun at him with both hands, even though one of them was pounding and screaming with pain. In that moment, she was in the perfect position to shoot even below him, and he was in the perfect position to be shot at.

But…she didn't. Instead, she hesitated. She believed that she couldn't do this. Not to someone she knew. It was already painful. She almost burst into tears. Then she realized something. What had Skipper told her? To never hesitate. Which she just did. Now she had something else to hate herself for. She finally realized that she really wanted to get Skipper out of his misery. She had even promised him! But it seemed like the moment for that was gone.

Yet…pulling together the last pieces of hope she had left, she steadied her hand and pulled the trigger.

Skipper gave one last groan before he fell to the ground, dead.

Everything went quiet, but even when the silence went on, Marlene was sure she heard Kowalski yell "Eureka!" from somewhere inside the HQ. But that was the least of her worries. She got up in a kneeling position and began to weep as the reality of what had just happened began to sink in. She had killed Skipper. But that woulodn't be the end. She would have to burn him, and tell everyone else what had happened. They would all would be devastated. Who would be the one who lead them now? It was over. Everything was going to change.

One of her tears fell on the little green plant. It slowly blossomed into a pure white flower. But for some reason, it didn't even look pretty. Or maybe that was what Marlene's view of the world was like now. Reality was harsh.

Marlene stared at the body. They were so young. The universe was beyond cruel. And he still didn't know what turned him.

Her mind had barely even began to wrap around what had happened when she heard a loud shot come from the storage area. From there, she saw a bright light start to soar into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind. Marlene stared as it rose higher and higher into the sky. No…it couldn't be. Since it came from the storage area, it had to be a lethal weapon. It was going to kill them all. She was sure of it. The end was coming in seconds from now.

Marlene didn't know what to think or do. She looked at her surroundings. All the debris. It was the same yet different. The setting sun casted a surreal and eerie look to it, making it seem peaceful yet sinister. Inside the HQ were innocent children, oblivious to what was to happen. And she didn't dare to look down at Skipper. She didn't know who or what just set that weapon to fly, and for all she knew it was him. But why?

So instead, she looked up at the bright light once again, as it started to slow down as it reached it's peak in the sky, the very top of the arch. It was the brightest, most dazzling thing all around. She could do nothing about the moment. The whole thing was over. Operation: ZOMBIE was a total bust. An epic fail. All was going to be lost.

Marlene closed her eyes because she only needed to hear the explosion that happened next.


End file.
